Getting a Rusty
by damncritic
Summary: He wanted to be like Danny Ocean. Linus.


**Getting a Rusty**

**By : DC**

Disclaimer : Not mine. Except the story.

Summary : He wanted to be like Danny Ocean. Linus.

Rating : None.

* * *

The problem with any idea is that as soon as it is out in the open, it becomes fair game for anyone.

To his defense, he was depressed and _very_ drunk at that time. And he was with Turk. And Turk _wasn't_ drunk.

Turk had been waiting for Virgil and saw him at the bar, drinking himself to oblivion. It was a cold night and with Turk joining him and sharing a few glasses, he felt comfortable enough to start complaining about his string of spectacularly failed heists and generally feeling sorry for himself because no matter how well he had thought of things, it always never works out because either his partners doesn't dare take the risk or they weren't good enough to make it work.

He knew that _if only_ he had the chance, he would do anything to be like Danny.

Danny, who never seem to have an idea _not_ work no matter what the circumstances are. Who seem to always have luck (ahem, Rusty) on his side.

Turk was a sympathetic listener, surprisingly, so when Turk suddenly wanted to give advise to his plight, he made sure to hang onto his every word.

"Why not get a Rusty?"

He stared at his friend, wondering if he heard correctly. "What's that?"

His friend looked back at him and repeated, as if talking to a particularly slow child, "I said, why not get a Rusty? I mean, Danny's only Danny because he has Rusty. So if you wanted to be like Danny, you'd have to get a Rusty."

Virgil took that moment to appear and heard what his brother said and agreed with it. "That's right. Danny wouldn't be Danny if Rusty isn't there. He'll just be, plain Danny Ocean."

Which doesn't make sense, but the twins seemed to understand each other and happily continued on the conversation without him. Which should have warned him already, because anything that the twins agreed on was a disaster waiting to happen. But he was already drunk and more than a bit distracted of the absurdity of it all and the alcohol was comfortably settling down in his stomach like a warm blanket. In any case, they were just making idle conversation to pass away the time anyway, so there should be no harm done.

He should have known that with the twins, anything that _shouldn't_ go wrong, would go wrong. Which came the morning after when a knock at his door revealed a grinning blond who, with his eyes twinkling in poorly hidden amusement and arms outstretched, said, "Here's your Rusty."

He stared at Rusty in his outrageous clothes and open arms…

…and his boulder-like hangover screeched to a halt and fell off the cliff of his mind.

"Wha- what are you doing here?!" he can't help but splutter, now fully awake and wondering if he should thank the blond for shocking his hang-over so much to make it disappear without the help of aspirins.

The blond in front of him just gave him a smile and cheerfully explained, "A bird told me that you wanted to be just like Danny." He felt his jaw drop open in total shock and he stood there, mouth hanging open while Rusty simply slipped past him and went inside his apartment, continuing, "And since there can't be a Danny without a Rusty, here I am." Plopping himself on the sofa of his living room, the blond made himself comfortable. "So, what are we robbing first?"

He couldn't help hitting his head on the wall as memories of the previous night came back to him, not minding if Rusty hears it or not because he needed the pain to cope with the utter humiliation growing inside him. He is going kill Turk for this.

Make that Turk **and** Virgil. Because he was sure that Turk couldn't have thought of this on his own without his equally deranged brother.

But...

Though he was reluctant at first _(because Rusty can only be with Danny, and he's certainly no Danny),_ the chance to work with Rusty, side by side, was a dream of come true.

Because it has been so long since he had a decent partner to work with. And jobs with Rusty were simply… amazing. Previously impossible ideas were immediately solved with a flick of a hand and a candy bar on the other and the days passed by like a stream of everlasting luck and fortune, with no security too hard and no risk too great to stop them. He can feel his confidence building up and slowly, even his reputation was spreading as well. Strings of compliments and praises _(and envy)_ now surrounded him constantly and everybody wanted to be in his team. His and Rusty's team. It was perfect.

Except…

Some days, he noticed that Rusty has this faraway look on his face - usually when they were waiting for their mark or when nothing important was going on. And he wonders if Rusty would have had gone through the details about the job as thoroughly as he had if it was _somebody else_ instead of him _(and he knows that Rusty wouldn't, because he has seen them simply look at each other and just... understood)_. But then he tells himself that Rusty never looked bored or discontent. Never that.

But then…

Linus stared at the ceiling one evening after a successful heist with a bank, one of the many they had that month. He couldn't even remember the details of the earlier jobs they had done even though he was the one who had the ideas, all seemed to be the same. And Rusty...he never looked excited. Challenged.

_Alive._

Rusty never _shined_. With him. Because he knows that only one person can give him the ideas that would be too preposterous to even contemplate. That only the most outrageous of plans can pull it off. And those the ideas that he didn't have are what's keeping his friend from becoming _brilliant_.

Perhaps, it just wasn't meant to be. As much as he try _(and he had tried!)_, he simply couldn't pull off that flair that Danny seems to exude even at the most ridiculous of all situations.

_He just couldn't be like Danny._

And so one night after another successful heist _(the final heist, his mind whispered to him even as his heart cries out "just one more!")_ and watching a game of soccer at his apartment, he gathered his courage and broke the perfect life that he had. "H-hey, Rusty..."

"Hmm-?" came a nonchalant reply.

He took a deep breath and dove in. "Just wanted to say thanks for all help. It has always been great working with you and, and... I really learned a lot. I think I can... I mean, not that I don't want your help or anything, because I do and I - " He was stammering and his throat felt dry and he really needed to continue and say that he's dissolving their partnership because he thinks that Rusty deserves better _(Danny, not him)_, but Rusty simply gave him a warm smile and spared him.

"You are you, and Danny is Danny." The blond placed a hand on his shoulder. "That can never change and will never change. And though you might want to be like Danny, have you ever thought of being Linus?"

He stared at the blond, dumbstruck. The blond continued to smile.

"Because from what I can see, Linus is a great guy. And just as there can't be a Danny without a Rusty, there also can't be a Linus without…" He leaned in to listen carefully but the blond simply chuckled. "Well, you'll find out on your own."

"Remember Linus," Rusty continued, gathering his things to leave, "there are people out there who just couldn't wait to work with you. And who would fit you better than I do. You just don't know it yet."

He gave the blond a small smile and a weak wave and watched as that shining figure disappeared behind the closing door of his apartment, his heart squirming inside him, scolding him for letting go of the best thing that came into his life. Giving a sigh, he sat back down on his sofa, preparing himself to spend another long stretch of dreary days when the telephone rang.

* * *

"You think he'll realize that he works the best with the twins?"

Two figures were secretly watching the complicated proceeding below. It's like watching a live suspense movie, with how Linus just barely succeeded in hiding behind some crates before their mark appeared while the twins were frantically arguing with each other as to whose fault it was that Linus wasn't able to climb to the roof with them.

The blond figure beside the first shrugged and replied. "Maybe. In a few more years. When he figures out that despite the lack of... finesse and how ridiculous it becomes, not to mention the loads of heart stopping moments, they always seem to get the job done."

Both figures winced as one of the twins accidentally knocked over a can of paint which drenched the poor Linus below. Though because of that, the mark whose room they were planning to break in later (assuming they succeed in stealing the highly secured key and code) took pity on the now blue-colored Linus and invited him to his room.

"And when he learns that his frustration and annoyance can also be the other side of fondness…"

Looking at each other, the blond gave a wry smile, which was mirrored perfectly.

"Make that a few decades then."

The End.

* * *

Hope you like it!


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